Woman critically hurt when pickup impaled by guardrail

MENIFEE  A Perris woman is in critical condition after a pickup truck she was riding in became impaled by a guardrail directly in front of the Menifee Valley Medical Center early Sunday morning.

Menifee Police said shortly before 1 a.m. the 21-year-old male driver of a pickup truck was heading east on McCall Boulevard when he drifted off the right edge of the roadway. The pickup struck a metal guardrail placed there to protect drivers from a small drainage channel on the south side of the road, said Sgt. Sergio Rodriguez in a news release.

The guardrail impaled the entire length of the truck. The female passenger, also 21 years old, was struck by the guardrail and was unconscious when police arrived. The driver, a Nuevo resident, received only minor injures. Alcohol and drugs are considered a factor in the collision, Rodriguez said, however no arrest was made pending further investigation.